ABSTRACT
This chapter explores a portrait of similarly contrasting perspectives on the relationship between policy and evaluation. It begins with a depiction of the changing context of in which policy and evaluation are practiced. The chapter examines the images that policy and evaluation have of each other and the extent to which they perform their respective functions independently. It elaborates the emerging interdependencies. The world of policy and its evaluation has been facing increasingly severe external pressures. It is a well documented development. The generational development of evaluation methodology may have contributed to the critical tone of this perspective. The frustration of evaluation stems from the neglect by policy of the imperative to reflect and consider the interconnectedness of matters over time. The portrayals are essentially of straw men, perhaps British straw men at that, and overlook the complex symbiosis of the communities of policy and evaluation.
